Who's making what today?

[Divemaster]

Simple Bastard Brine is so simple that even a simple bastard like me can’t screw it up. This is my favorite brine because it involves awesome beer, takes just a few minutes to make, and can be used for all sorts of carnivorous goodness.
INGREDIENTS
4 lbs. pork ribs (I used baby back ribs)
2 or 3 (hell, why not 4) 22 oz. bottles of Arrogant Bastard Ale
3 tablespoons of sea salt or kosher salt
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of celery seed
1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
Small fistful of peppercorns (this ain’t the Manhattan Project, SWAG it)
Optional: a wee bit of liquid smoke, if you’re into that.
DIRECTIONS
1. Rinse the ribs and remove the membrane on the back side. Cut down to size as desired.
2. In a sauce pan, mix 2 Arrogant Bastards and all of the dry ingredients (plus liquid smoke, if you’re into that).
3. Over low heat stir gently until the salt is dissolved. This won’t take much heat so stay focused. Allow the mixture to cool.
4. Place the ribs in a roasting pan (because that’s better for pictures), or a Ziploc bag, and add the brine mix. Add another Arrogant Bastard to get more depth, if needed. Cover the pan with cling wrap, or squeeze your bag to remove air.
5. Let the ribs soak for at least 6 hours in the refrigerator. I prefer 12-24 hours myself.
6. Tick-tock. Remove the ribs from the brine and pat them dry. Toss the brine; it’s done.
7. Grill using indirect, medium heat and a covered grill for 1.5 to 1.75 hours. Using a gas grill (sue me), I’ll go low and slow for an even longer cook time.
8. When the ribs are almost done feel free to baste with your favorite sauce.
9. Brine the cook.

[Team Sergeant]

You see! This is how you cook!!!!!!!!! Well Done Brother! (Ugh, do we have any finished pics?)

Originally Posted by Divemaster

Simple Bastard Brine is so simple that even a simple bastard like me can’t screw it up. This is my favorite brine because it involves awesome beer, takes just a few minutes to make, and can be used for all sorts of carnivorous goodness.
INGREDIENTS
4 lbs. pork ribs (I used baby back ribs)
2 or 3 (hell, why not 4) 22 oz. bottles of Arrogant Bastard Ale
3 tablespoons of sea salt or kosher salt
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of celery seed
1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
Small fistful of peppercorns (this ain’t the Manhattan Project, SWAG it)
Optional: a wee bit of liquid smoke, if you’re into that.
DIRECTIONS
1. Rinse the ribs and remove the membrane on the back side. Cut down to size as desired.
2. In a sauce pan, mix 2 Arrogant Bastards and all of the dry ingredients (plus liquid smoke, if you’re into that).
3. Over low heat stir gently until the salt is dissolved. This won’t take much heat so stay focused. Allow the mixture to cool.
4. Place the ribs in a roasting pan (because that’s better for pictures), or a Ziploc bag, and add the brine mix. Add another Arrogant Bastard to get more depth, if needed. Cover the pan with cling wrap, or squeeze your bag to remove air.
5. Let the ribs soak for at least 6 hours in the refrigerator. I prefer 12-24 hours myself.
6. Tick-tock. Remove the ribs from the brine and pat them dry. Toss the brine; it’s done.
7. Grill using indirect, medium heat and a covered grill for 1.5 to 1.75 hours. Using a gas grill (sue me), I’ll go low and slow for an even longer cook time.
8. When the ribs are almost done feel free to baste with your favorite sauce.
9. Brine the cook.

[Guy]

Originally Posted by Team Sergeant

You see! This is how you cook!!!!!!!!! Well Done Brother! (Ugh, do we have any finished pics?)

I'm screwed! Neck bones I cooked by taste & sight.

Crock pot with chicken stock 4 hours.
Drain, scoop excess fat then, cook another 3 hours with soy & worcester sauce, cayenne and crushed red peppers.

Putting them in some turnip greens later today.

[Divemaster]

Originally Posted by Team Sergeant

You see! This is how you cook!!!!!!!!! Well Done Brother! (Ugh, do we have any finished pics?)

Pics coming. I haven't grilled them yet.

[Team Sergeant]

Originally Posted by Guy

I'm screwed! Neck bones I cooked by taste & sight.

Crock pot with chicken stock 4 hours.
Drain, scoop excess fat then, cook another 3 hours with soy & worcester sauce, cayenne and crushed red peppers.

Putting them in some turnip greens later today.

Looks awful good too!

[Guy]

Originally Posted by Team Sergeant

Looks awful good too!

I'd be f*@king GONE!

[Divemaster]

When you don't have a thermometer on the meat.

[Divemaster]

The ribs came out of the brine right at 24 hours. They were patted dry with paper towels, placed in one of those store bought aluminum serving trays with a lid (pick up a few every time you hit the supermarket), and allowed to reach room temperature as I fired up the grill.

I grilled the ribs for about 2.5 hours. The first 30 minutes was at an indicated 275 degrees. I don’t have a meat thermometer so I was going off the grill’s gauge. I figured it was reading hot since it is in the lid and not at meat level (there’s a term to have fun with).

I backed the temp down to where the lid gauge read just over 100 degrees. At about 2.25 hours (the ribs were done by now) I cranked up the temp, added sauce to the meat and tossed ears of corn on the grill. I like to caramelize the sauce, and even char it a bit. Purists, don’t hate.

One of the bones came out of the thinnest rib section at the end. I tend to think that if the meat is falling off the bone, I’ve over cooked. Everywhere else, the meat stayed on but the bones came out clean. I was satisfied with the grilling time & temp.

In spite of the BBQ sauce, and as I’ve learned in the past, the flavors imparted by the brine still shine through. One of the keys is using a heavily malted beer like Arrogant Bastard from San Diego’s (ok, Escondido’s) Stone Brewing. These types of beers tend to do something that an IPA cannot, and the flavors are different from a porter or stout—which are both good choices on other occasions.
The spices used in the brine definitely add flavor to the meat. Pepper was present, but the dominant flavor was from the beer. The 24 hour soak made the flavors bolder and more noticeable through the sauce.

Lessons learned:
1. When taking the ribs from the brine, make sure ALL of the peppercorns are left behind. Biting into one is like hitting a pepper IED, and that is all you will tasted for a while.
2. For those who prefer a sweeter taste, up the brown sugar by 50% or 100%.

Craft Beer Pairings:
1. Arrogant Bastard. You can’t go wrong by drinking the beer you used in the brine; but of course not the beer you used in the brine. Don’t ask, just trust me on that. Really.
2. Belgian triples & quads. The high malt profile and bold flavors compliment nicely. If you go Trappist, you are doing it right.
3. India Pale Ale. More so, I think, if you finish the ribs with a spicy BBQ sauce. Otherwise the bitterness might conflict with the imparted brine flavors. However, see #4 below.
4. Whatever the hell you like. There are no rules, and no craft beer police.

TS—thanks for the kudos earlier. For my own education, what do you think I was doing right in that first post? The closest I’ve been to a culinary school was a shift on KP in basic training.

[mark46th]

Good stuff!!

[letinsh]

Nice, Divemaster!
TS - I'm cooking so much meat because....erm....uh...I'm trying to keep my pregnant wife from going anemic. Yeah, we'll go with that excuse

Tonight, I did PSM's Orange Chicken, kanom jeeb, and snow peas.
See the Asian Recipe thread for both recipes.

PSM - the wife said that OC recipe is the best she's had. Well done!

I've really gotta work on the aforementioned "mise en place"....this took too long. Also didn't realize you had to boil the cornstarch/water mixture to cause it to thicken....I stared, puzzled, at a simmering, very runny pot of sauce for a minute before I figured that one out.

[PSM]

Originally Posted by letinsh

Also didn't realize you had to boil the cornstarch/water mixture to cause it to thicken....I stared, puzzled, at a simmering, very runny pot of sauce for a minute before I figured that one out.

Originally Posted by PSM

Slowly stir in cornstarch mix into sauce until it thickens.

Everything happens kind of fast once you get to the cooking stage.

Thank your wife for me!

Pat

[letinsh]

Originally Posted by PSM

Everything happens kind of fast once you get to the cooking stage.

Thank your wife for me!

Pat

Will do. The confusion came where I assumed that you brought the sauce to a boil, then reduced it to a simmer, rather than keeping it at a boil while you add in the cornstarch mixture-the error was mine (It might well thicken up at a simmer, I'm just not patient enough to wait ).

[Team Sergeant]

Originally Posted by letinsh

Nice, Divemaster!
TS - I'm cooking so much meat because....erm....uh...I'm trying to keep my pregnant wife from going anemic. Yeah, we'll go with that excuse

Tonight, I did PSM's Orange Chicken, kanom jeeb, and snow peas.
See the Asian Recipe thread for both recipes.

PSM - the wife said that OC recipe is the best she's had. Well done!

I've really gotta work on the aforementioned "mise en place"....this took too long. Also didn't realize you had to boil the cornstarch/water mixture to cause it to thicken....I stared, puzzled, at a simmering, very runny pot of sauce for a minute before I figured that one out.

What's the maximum effective range of an excuse? You have my phone number.......

[letinsh]

Originally Posted by Team Sergeant

What's the maximum effective range of an excuse? You have my phone number.......

0meters. But, I'm one of the few from my generation who is willing to put some effort into finding a solution before looking for help
Had I not figured it out in a timely manner, you were my first call

[PSM]

Originally Posted by letinsh

The confusion came where I assumed that you brought the sauce to a boil, then reduced it to a simmer, rather than keeping it at a boil while you add in the cornstarch mixture-the error was mine

It seems to me that when cooking in a wok there is only one temperature: Hot! I don't recall ever reducing the heat when using one.

Pat